n this installment, herbalist and blogger Brandon Gilbert joins us to discuss whitewashed inauthentic spiritual endeavors in our consumerist driven society. You can find more from Brandon at the following: https://www.youtube.com/user/herbgardner00 http://www.hyperionherbs.com

In this installment, Alchemist Timothy Wilkerson joins us to discuss approaches of laboratory alchemy and it’s philosophical underpinnings.
You can find more from Timothy at the following: http://www.alchemyastrology.com

The DEA has announced the scheduling of Kratom, a southeast Asian plant used extensively in traditional medicine, to Schedule 1 beginning 30 September. According to the DEA website, “Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”

Curiously, the cannabis plant and its active component, THC, are also Schedule 1 substances despite mounting evidence of it’s medical benefits and little evidence of long-term harm caused by use. Cannabis has recently undergone a renaissance in legal stature, however, being made legal both medicinally and recreationally in several by several State governments.

The problem faced by advocates of cannabis use is the same, however, is the same Kratom advocates are faced with due to DEA scheduling. Under Schedule 1 status, it becomes incredibly hard to conduct the sort of peer-reviewed studies that organizations like the FDA require to issue permits for clinical trials and eventual availability to the public.